After All This Time  Arthur and Gwen AU Prequel
by LightingYourDarkness
Summary: Gwen and Arthur meet as children, and grow up together as best friends. When things start to change, Gwen finds herself in terrifying situation where she is helpless. Will Arthur be able to see past his feelings and save her?


Every little boy has a place of escape, and a place he can always be himself. For every single child, this place is different. For Arthur Pendragon it was a great oak, in a distant field, far from the castle of Camelot. Of course, what is a place to play, if one must go on his adventures alone? Everyone needs a friend, and to Arthur that was Gwen. She was the gentleness to his roughness, and the hyper to his shy.

Gwen Thomas, eight years old, skipped across the field, the grass almost as tall as she was. She was tiny for her age, but that didn't stop her from moving as fast as possible. The sun shone on her brown hair, giving her skin an almost golden look to it. Her father had work to do, and so she was able to have the day to herself. She wore boy's clothes, her brothers, so that she could run with ease. Because she had not yet developed into a woman, it wasn't frowned upon. She ran towards the giant oak bordering the field. It looked perfect for climbing.

Arthur had thought he was alone, as he was most days, way in the top of the tree, was a little house built for him. It was his place of shelter. Cautiously, the nine year old boy peered out the window. A small girl was skipping up to the tree, and he watched in awe as she began to climb it with her bare hands, using no assistance from the ladder.

"Hello!" The Prince called. "Who are you?"

Gwen almost lost her hold on the tree when a voice called out. She managed to wedge herself into a space between two branches before looking up. Her previous sense of adventure was gone, replaced with an almost crippling shyness. She looked down, saying her name quietly.

"You don't have to be afraid of me." Arthur said kindly, reaching his hand down to help her into the tree house. "My name's Arthur. We're friends...now. We can share the tree. No harm done."

Gwen took the hand shyly, letting herself be partially pulled, and partially climbing into the tree house. She tucked a strand of dark unruly hair behind her ear, looking at her toes as a blush crept across her skin.

A tender, cheeky grin lit Arthur's dimpled cheeks. "My pleasure to meet you." He bowed, as he'd been taught by his father...to always show utmost courtesy to ladies. "Lady...what's your name again?"

Gwen curtsied, despite her lack of skirts. "Gwen." She said, "I recognize you. You're the prince."

"Lady Guinevere of Prince Arthur's treehouse." He nodded confidently. "And a lovely name at that." For a moment confusion clouded his eyes. "But...you won't treat me differently, will you? 'Acause I'm Prince?"

"As long as you won't treat me differently." Gwen said shyly, "Because I'm the daughter of a blacksmith."

"Of course not!" Arthur smiled, his uncertainty dispersing. "In Arthur's tree kingdom, everyone is the same."

"If only the whole kingdom was like that." Gwen said, her musical voice filling the treehouse as she sat down.

"I think someday it will be." Arthur pulled out a small wooden chair for her to sit in. "Here, have a chair, Lady Guinevere. That is...if you'd like one."

"If we're all equal." Gwen said, before patting the ground next to her, "Come and sit with me."

"Certainly." Arthur took his place on the smooth wooden floor. "It is as you wish. I just thought that...maybe...a fine lady like yourself, would like to sit properly at a table." His vocabulary sounded nearly hilarious coming out of such a small body, and his mannerisms were the same. But as they sat there, together, in near silence, you could tell that he was a normal child, raised in unusual circumstances. There in that tree house, everything was equal. "Oh my, my, my. I have been rude." The young Prince went on. "Would you-um-like something to eat? Or would you like to play?" His gestures went from stacks of games, and swords that could entertain a child for hours to a small set of dishes, well prepared with a fancy dinner.

Let's play." Gwen said, smiling. She knew that, as a young prince, he would be well trained with a sword. But she was the daughter of a blacksmith, and could defend herself well enough, even at nine.

"Alright. On guard!" Arthur took a sword with easy confidence, and they soon swung from vines, battling bandits from kingdoms of tree houses of the far and near.

Gwen couldn't help but giggle as they played for hours. It was the most fun she'd had in a long time.

It was getting dark, the last bits of sunset leaving the sky, when they lay down in the field under the tree, both exhausted, but laughing, and content to watch the sky.

It was rather silent, and the little boy found himself without much to say. So he stared up at the moving clouds, trying to think of how a girl would see them.

"...Pretty..." He finally remarked.

Gwen laughed, "You're making it up." She said, "You don't think they're pretty. You're a boy." She didn't say it meanly. She could just tell when he wasn't being truthful.

"Well," Arthur nodded to her words, his cheeky grin reappearing, but kept watching. "It /is/ pretty. I've just never thought of clouds being pretty before."

"That's because you're a boy." Gwen said again, matter of factly. She giggled, her whole body shaking. "I like you." She said finally.

"...thanks?" Arthur's grin disappeared, and the look of cloudy confusion entered his eyes again. "But how so do you mean? You like playing with me?"

Gwen nodded, before realizing he couldn't see her, "Yes." She said shyly, "I've never really had a friend before."

"Me either! I've been waiting for one. Waiting for you, I suppose. Since you're my friend now." The words were stated matter-of-factually, and without any nonsense. "I've had this tree house since I was five. My Father had it built. But a kingdom with no queen isn't really special..."

Gwen rolled over onto her stomach, her arms under her chin, "Really?" She asked, "You like me even though I'm not royalty."

Arthur mimicked her position, looking right into her dark eyes with his soft blue ones. "What's wrong with not being royalty?"

Gwen shrugged as best as she could on her tummy, "Nothing, if you're not royalty." She said, "But people keep telling me that we're different. I'm different from nobles and royalty. I don't see how. We all look the same."

"We do all look the same." Arthur raised an eyebrow, and lowered it again, putting their hands together. " 'Cept that your skin is darker."

Gwen giggled, "That's because I'm not from Camelot." Gwen said, "I'm from far away. Most of the people there look like me. You would look strange there."

"But you don't look strange." Arthur figured. "I think you look...rather nice." Then he figured that wouldn't sound very kind to a girl's ears. "I mean, pretty. Quite pretty."

"I like your hair." Gwen said suddenly, "I like the colour of it." She reached out to touch it, "It's like the sun."  
>He laughed. "Thanks! Yours goes...boing!" Arthur tugged one of the curls, grinning. "It looks fun!"<p>

Gwen laughed, "It's really hard to brush." She said truthfully, "And it's always in my face."

Here." Arthur took a bit of it gently in his fingers and combed it into a braid, the best he could. "Maybe that will help."

Gwen smiled, "Thanks." She said, her smile bright and lighting up her face. She looked up at the sky, and said, "I should go. My father is probably worried."

"Bye." Prince smiled back, but a frown quickly followed. "You'll come back...right? Tomorrow? And...forever?"

Gwen laughed, tackle hugging him to the ground. "Of course I will." She said, "You're my friend."

A bubbly laugh poured from his lungs, in relief, if nothing else. They rolled through the grass for a minute before Arthur sat up, grass in his hair.

"B-bleh." He took a piece of grass out of his mouth, and started picking it out of his hair.

Gwen laughed, helping to pick the grass out of his hair, "You're funny." She said with a laugh.

"Thanks." He looked up at her, sunshine gleaming onto his tanned temples. "It's getting dark, Gwen. Should you like me to walk the queen home?"

Gwen smiled. She liked how special he made her feel. "If the King would be so kind." She replied in her most formal voice.

"He'd be honoured." Arthur nodded, offering her a small, still soft hand.

Gwen tucked her tanned hand into his pale one. "I'm glad I met you."

"I'm glad I met you too...Guinevere." Arthur said, as they waded through grass that was shoulder high, and finally out to the dusty street. A few of his father's knights waited for him there. "Uh-oh. Bye, Gwen...I've got to go home." He said reluctantly, as he was hoisted up onto one of the tall shoulders and carried through the streets. Arthur had always enjoyed the spectacle from so high in the past, but it was nothing compared to watching a little girl who ran in down the cobbles in her bare feet, back to a blacksmith father. He folded his hands in a weak wave, and watched until she disappeared from sight, and the castle zoomed wide ahead.

Gwen could run across the cobbled stones with no pain to her feet. She'd been running barefoot since she _could _run. But she didn't want to leave Arthur. She just hoped he would be there tomorrow.

They met there almost constantly, and years slowly passed, catching up with both of them. Arthur, now 16, wore a sword at his waist, and was growing very tall. Court events kept him away more than he'd have liked, but he was always there as much as he could be. Arthur showed her his first sword, and suit of chainmail, and would happily talk about what competitions he'd one with his sword. Even with his gathering renown, as Prince of Camelot, he never stopped coming to spar under the oak and meet Queen Gwen of Arthur's Tree.  
>Gwen, fifteen, though sixteen soon, waited for Arthur under the oak. For once, she didn't have a sword with her. She just waited, twisting her hands together, biting her lip.<p>

"Guinevere!" Arthur waded through the grass, which was only knee length now. "Did you bring your sword? I learned something knew that I wanted to teach...you...Arthur's voice passed quietly into the gentle wind when he noticed the look on her face. "Never mind."

Gwen tried to force a smile but couldn't seem to. "Eliyan left." She said, her voice breaking on the last syllable.

"Your brother?" Arthur questioned, coming to lean up against the great tree, and pulling the ladder down to the house. He had never heard much of Eliyan, but he obviously meant much to Gwen. "Here. Want to go up?"

Gwen nodded. She always felt safer in the tree house for some reason. However, being the girl she was, she simply kicked off her shoes and climbed the tree, rather than use the ladder, as she had for years. She was wearing men's clothing again, though under her dress. She climbed into the tree house and waited patiently for Arthur.

Arthur used the ladder, and watched Gwen tumble through the window, an amused smile on his face. "You'll never use the ladder will you?"

Gwen shook her head, "I like climbing." She said. She pushed herself against the wall, patting the floor next to her. Things hadn't really changed much.

Arthur grinned, and took his place on the floor. The boards were no longer shiny, and showed places where pacing hard occurred, rain had washed in, and chairs had scraped across it.

"He left this morning." Gwen said. She just wanted to tell the story and be over with it. "Said he didn't want to be at home anymore. Said he couldn't stand living how we do." She bit her lip, "I don't see anything wrong with how we live."

"I'm sorry." Arthur said quietly, taking her hands for confidence. "You still have me...if that's anything...probably not..."

"Of course it is." Gwen said, smiling. "You're my best friend. But I thought he cared about us."

"He probably does." Arthur thought about it before replying, wanting to help her. "But he probably also thinks that there's more in the world. And he wants to find it."

"Couldn't he have waited?" Gwen asked, "At least until I could go with him." Then she sighed, "Of course I wouldn't though. I wouldn't want to leave you." She spoke before realizing what she was saying, and her cheeks flushed red.

"I wouldn't blame you for leaving me." He said truthfully, nodding. "You don't have to wait for me..."

Gwen smiled, "I will always wait for you." She wondered briefly is they were talking about two different things. She'd never really thought about Arthur that way until later, when they had both gotten to the age of fourteen. Then things had changed, if only slightly.

"I mean." Arthur decided it couldn't hurt to clarify himself, even if she didn't end up liking it. "While my father is king, Guinevere, a Prince cannot...fall in love with a servant. But...I wish to change that. One day. I will change that."

Gwen looked completely and utterly surprised, but recovered quickly, "Well that's an advantage of being a servant." She said, "I can fall in love with whoever I please. Even if it's not always ideal."

He cleared his throat, and looked away, almost but not quite embarrassed at what he'd said. It was true, that was what he longed for. Even though a dark flush was rising to his cheeks, anyway. "I-think someone's calling me." Arthur began to back down the ladder.

"I didn't hear anything." Gwen said quietly, smiling slightly. She hadn't, but even if she had she wouldn't tell him.

He peeked in the door again. "See...look? Some of father's knights!" Arthur ended up pointing to bare field.

"Are you imagining again?" Gwen asked shyly, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear as it fell in her face.

"No." He said shyly, leaning on one of the branches. "I was...making it up. Because...I...had never told anyone how I felt about you."

Gwen looked down at her hand, blushing only slightly. "And how do you feel about me?" She asked.

"I...love you." His blue eyes tilted up to look into hers.

Gwen smiled, though in the back of her mind, a thought said that maybe it wasn't true. They were both young. Did they really know what love was? But she was sure that at the moment, she did love him, and they both believe that. "I love you too." She whispered.

"Kiss me." Arthur whispered, his eyes sparkling, and a soft smile parting his lips.

The way Gwen saw it, there was no reason not to. They were alone, and the feelings she had for him...well. So slowly, she moved closer to him, until her soft lips were pressed against his.

Arthur thought that those few moments must have been the best of his life. He closed his eyes, and just thought about how much he loved her. Because he did.

Gwen moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck. This was all that was real. Him and her. Now.

The sixteen year old prince didn't want the moment to end, but all moments have to. Nothing can last forever, and if anyone wishes that they must learn the hard way. Two more years went and came around quickly. Trips to the tree house came fewer and fewer. Arthur was pushed into court, and royal duties and at eighteen was made the crown prince of Camelot.

The next time he met Guinevere, under the old oak tree, she would barely talk to him, and he didn't understand.

"Remember the first time I kissed you?" Arthur whispered, a slight smile teasing at his face.

Gwen's face was ashen. She so wanted to smile with Arthur, and act like a child again. But she was worried. "Arthur." She whispered, "There's this...Um..." She didn't know how to say what she had to say, and it made her sad. Tears welled in her eyes, shining clearly.

"What happened?" Confusion clouded Arthur's tone as he placed his gentle hand under her chin, lifting it from it's crestfallen position. "Please. I beg you. Tell me your hurts; I will not tell a soul. I swear to God."

He pressed her into a tight, reassuring hug.

Gwen closed her eyes, burying her head in his shoulder, "I have to marry." She said, her voice muffled.

"What?" Arthur took a step back, unsure as to whether he'd heard her correctly. "What...what do you mean?"

Gwen tried to hold back her tears but she couldn't, "I mean I'm getting married." She said. And she wished she could tell him why. Why she had to get married.

Arthur's tender, caring hands dropped from her face to his side. How could she do this to him? Abandon everything they had for so many year? Feeling more betrayed than he thought he ever could, Arthur bit his lips and stared at the field past her shoulder.

"This is goodbye, then...Guinevere."

"Oh Arthur don't, please." Gwen had tears streaming down her face now, "It's not like that."

"You've made your choices." His voice was hardened, but not unkind. "I am afraid I've made mine." A curt nod was all Arthur gave, as he began wading through the knee high grass, back towards the high way, the castle, and away from the secret rendezvous of childhood.

"Arthur!" Gwen called, but there was nothing she could say. No way to make this any better. How could she? She was broken inside, and now she had broken him.

It took everything Arthur Pendragon had in him, not to look back that day. His blue eyes didn't glisten with tears, but were dulled with hurt. He'd lost his love, and his only true friend.


End file.
